I would like to hear answers to this as well! My Panasonic Whisper Warm is in the garage awaiting installation - If I need insulated duct work I'd like to know what is required! Wow - Whisper is the key word here - not to mention $$$

yeah - that's some bucks for a fan!

Mine was a bit of a pain to install. Is your unit firmly screwed in? Does it sound like a vibration noise? My duct work is not insulated.

I worry that it is too quiet. Sometimes you want a little noise in the bathroom if you know what I mean. Very effective though.

sorry you are having problems.

If you find that the noise is vibration caused by the fan trim, try what I did: I split 4 clear drinking straws lengthwise and slipped over each edge of the fan trim where it touched the ceiling. Invisible...and completely stopped the rattle.

We have a problem too - we have 4 of Pan. WQ fans in total - in all our bathrooms. 2 of them are very very quiet, and 2 of them are much louder. It is on my list to ask our electrician why there is such a difference in noise....

Beth

My husbands going to take a closer look at the fan. He did the install himself and it could possibly be a vibration noise. Hopefully a little closer look and some adjustments will help. Will let you all know what the problem was if we figure it out. Any other insight is appreciated. Thanks

Hard to tell without more information. I replaced 2 Nutones in my baths with 2 Panasonics, and the noise level went down dramatically. If you evaluate the installation and it's still noisy, the fan itself might be bad.

are nutones unbearably noisy? I need some noise to remind me to turn it off... I'm not springing for a timer switch...

Well I think we figured it out. It is the angle of the tubing coming off the fan. If you disconnect the 4 inch tubing it is quiet. Once we put the tubing on with a 2-3 foot run and then bend the tubing at a 90 degree angle to go out the soffit it gets noisy. Also adding the end cap makes it even noisier as these items cause resistance of the airflow. We bought a different end that will allow an increase of airflow. We will see if this works. I will keep you posted

I love ours, it is very quiet & we did have a timer switch put in so it could run after we left the room if we like it to. Since we have so much wood in our bathroom, I didn't want any problems with extra moisture in there. Everything seems to be working out perfect. Good luck & keep us posted on the solution you end up with.

I agree with LaurenPS. We had ours partially installed for a short period (venting into the roof area) and it was incredibly quiet. I didn't even know it was on. Now that the rigid vent (approx 3 feet) is fully installed with a connection to the outside and a 90 degree angle, it became very loud. I think we are going to replace the rigid angle with a flexible tube and see if that works better.

I have an update regarding our fan. My husband replaced the soffit vent with something that had less restriction. He purchased the soffit vent called the EVE6 undereve vent. You can purchase it on Amazon or at Home Depot. The noise level went down significantly. Just a warning, there are a couple of bad reviews on this product on Amazon. Some saying the flaps do not stay closed in windy weather. We saw those reviews and thought we would give it a try anyway. It is cheap enough and we can go back to the old one that was a metal cap over the circular area. I will give you an update after the cold windy weather rolls into New England.

We are at the stage of plumbers installing things.... is this fan worth the money??? And having it vent out the eves- soffit area...anyone know the pros and cons??

Moist air = bad for wood. Don't do it.

I have 2 Panasonic fans.

The secret to any fan noise is proper duct work.

This means as long a run as possible directly off the fan without changing direction or reducing size.

Avoiding 90 degree bends - multiple 45's are better.

Avoid flexible duct work like the plague. It's horrible stuff. Not only will it collect dust and moisture, the turbulence of the air caused by all those ridges contributes a lot to the noise level.

Both my fans are exhausted to the outside with rigid duct work properly installed, taped (not duct tape - silver foil tape) and of course screwed together. They're very very quiet.

Any fan is going to be much quieter with no ductwork attached, which is how they're demonstrated in big box stores which also are massive, tons of ambient noise etc. all making the fans seem quieter.

Also don't oversize the fan for the cubic feet of the room. Very important, as is ensuring there is enough supply coming in under the closed door etc. to feed the fan. As much air as it pushes out of the room has to be replaced with new air coming in under that small crack under the door. If it's not getting enough replacement air, it will be noisier.

TorontoTim - what's the downside to oversizing a fan? And how do you actually determine if a fan is oversized? I'd rather evacuate the moisture from the shower quickly - before it forms condensation on the surfaces - and turn the fan off after 5 minutes than use a smaller fan but let it run longer. I currently have 2 150cfm fans in my bathroom running on a timer while I shower. They shut off just about as I emerge and the room is pretty clear. Because they don't have to stay on after I get out of the shower, there's no wind chill on a wet body. Can you explain why, other than increased noise, sizing up is not advisable? Thanks.

Elessebee, I am no expert, but I think you do have to have make up air coming into the room for the fans to evacuate the moist air. I always keep my door cracked and this helps me. If I keep the doors closed tight it gets steamier. I would be interested in the responses you get.

We do have make-up air - door open an inch or 2. The room clears out almost as quickly as it steams up. Our 2 fans work well. If it's overkill for my size room (9 x 12) then I'd oversize every time unless there's a reason why it's not a good idea. Any thoughts?

@Ellessebee
There's a really good reason not to "oversize". Your makeup air is coming from outdoors from uncontrolled sources (gaps, cracks, etc.). That's not good in any case and really bad if you "oversize".